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Winners of Otters
Open snapped with Otters President Dilip Dandekar and Chief Guest
Aamir Khan and wife Kiran Rao |
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Second seed Saurav Ghosal staged a dramatic recovery to shock top seed Ritwik Bhattacharya 9-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-10 (2-0) in an absorbing 'derby' championship clash to clinch the PSA Otters Open Squash title, at the Otters Club, Bandra.
World No 59 Ghosal took 75 minutes to earn his maiden PSA title, while beating arch rival and world No 43 Bhattacharya on only the second occasion.
In a quality contest marked by long rallies and brilliant stroke play, both treated the jam-packed Otters Club to delightful squash that had all the ingredients of a thriller.
Bhattacharya seemed well on his way to victory after winning the opening games in tight finishes, including surviving a scare while leading 8-5 and allowing Ghosal to close in at 9-9 in the first. But Ghosal ignored his much accomplished opponent's reputation to play uninhibited squash. He chose to play the game he is accustomed to and it paid off.
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In a pulsating decider, Bhattacharya led 9-7 before enjoying two match balls at 10-8 and 10-9, but he hit the tin on two occasions while Ghosal earned a 'stroke' in between to surge to a crucial 11-10 advantage. Another 'stroke' and Ghosal sealed a memorable victory, prior to his maiden World Open he is eager to play in Cairo.
''It was an important tournament to win. It was a hard match especially coming back from two games down. I was not getting my shots in the first two games, while Ritwik hit the ball really well. The pressure is always there while playing Ritwik. But I hung in there and tried to get my rhythm,'' explained Ghosal. Said Bhattacharya: ''The game I was playing, was good enough. I don't think I could do anything different. But Saurav played well. I had earlier lost in five games to Manish Chotrani and Siddharth Suchde on the same court, and I guess losing to Saurav was the only thing remaining ! ‘'Ghosal earned $1,282 for his effort, while Bhattacharya settled for $877.
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